The rise and fall of capital market borrowing by UK local government over 200 years

They do this by examining the rise and fall in capital market borrowing by local government. In doing so, the articles contribute to four broader topics in economic and business history.

The first three relate to the nineteenth century: how the role of government grew; why state-owned enterprises developed; and how the municipal capital market grew. The last broader topic is the twentieth century increase in central control of local government in the UK, when international trends were for greater local autonomy. Over the two centuries in the UK, central government grows in importance, and local government becomes relatively less important.<br>